Blind, Deaf and Dumb
by marije2410
Summary: When Tony finds Abby crying in her lab, he discovered something about her past he never thought possible… Warning: Child Abuse! Tabby friendship ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **When Tony finds Abby crying in her lab, he discovered something about her past he never thought possible…

**Warning: **Child abuse! Don't like, don't read.

**Disclaimer: **Neither NCIS nor the characters are mine. Just writing this for fun, please don't sue.

**A/N: **shywr1ter informed me that the title I used may be considered offensive. That is definitely not my intention and if I offended anyone with it, I'm really sorry. I just used it as a reference to the rock-opera Tommy.

Chapter One:

Tony carefully approached Abby's lab. According to McGee their Mistress of the Dark hadn't been herself lately. Of course Tony responded by quoting the movie Psycho ("My mother hasn't quite been herself today") but he'd promised him he'd check on her. Truth being told, he really wasn't looking forward to it. Abby could be quite… Frightening.

He opened the door to her lab – why was it closed anyway? – and went in carefully. It was too quiet without the music.

"Abby?" he asked. "You in here?"

That's when he heard her crying. He turned to the direction of the sound and saw Abby sitting in front of her computer, crying softly.

"Abby?" Tony asked carefully as he walked towards her. "What's wrong?"

She looked up. "Oh, it's you."

Not the most flattering and welcoming greeting ever, Tony thought. And apparently so did Abby. "Not that I don't like you being here. Not that I ever meant to implicate I didn't like your presence. I mean, I just thought…"

"You just thought?" Tony encouraged her. She made him really curious and also worried.  
"I just thought you might be Gibbs."

Tony sighed. "Abbs, what's wrong? I know I'm not the fearless leader, but I can always try." He tried to hug her, but she pushed him away. He looked at the computer screen she'd been staring at. It showed the picture of a man that had a vague resemblance with her. "Who's that?"

For a minute, he thought she wasn't going to answer. Then she said in a soft voice: "David Sciuto, my uncle."

"Is something wrong with him?"

She laughed a humourless laugh. "You could say that. He's in prison. Well actually, he WAS in prison. He died in a fight about a week ago."

"I… I'm sorry, Abbs," Tony tried. He'd never known her uncle was in prison.

She gave him an odd look he couldn't really place. "Don't be." He didn't understand, but decided not to push her too much.

"Anyway, my aunt just called. I think it's safe to say she really hates me now," she continued.

"Why?" Tony asked, even less understanding.

She looked up at his face. "Because I'm the reason he was in prison in the first place."

**A/N: **Short, I know. It's just an introduction to the story. What do you think? Interesting enough? Should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Wow, I gotta say I didn't expect a response like this. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed and put this on alert. Here's the next chapter, hope it doesn't disappoint. The flashbacks are in italics and what stands between ~'s is in ASL. I don't own anything except uncle David and aunt Jessie.

Chapter Two:

Tony looked at her, even less understanding now. "What do you mean, you're the reason he's in prison?"

Abby opened her mouth to answer him, then changed her mind and shut it again. She smiled a sad smile. "I can't believe I'm telling you this," she said, more to herself than to him. "Only Gibbs and Ducky know. And the director of course."

Tony didn't know what to say. He'd never suspected Abby had a secret like this. "I won't tell anyone, Abbs." He realised he sounded very high school and added: "But of course you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

She looked up at him, her face still stained with tears. "No, I do want to tell you. Well, I don't really want to tell you, but I want you to know. And I kinda guess that means I'll have to tell you."

She took a deep breath. "So… It all started when I was seven…"

_The little girl always loved spending time with her uncle David and aunt Jessie. She loved the way her uncle ruffled her beautiful, black hair and she loved the way her aunt smelled like lavender. So when her mother signed to her she would be staying with her aunt and uncle for a week, she could barely wait to leave. _

_~Abby, just calm down,~ her mother signed, laughing at the bouncing little girl._

_~When are we leaving, Mom?~ she signed back enthusiastically. She could use Sign Language just as easily as English. It came in pretty handy, considering both her parents were deaf._

_~In a few hours, Abbs. Just find something to do until then, you're driving me crazy!~ her mother signed, still smiling at her daughter._

"Wait a minute," Tony said. "I thought you didn't like your uncle?"

Abby's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "I did back then. That changed pretty quickly, though."

_The little girl woke up, all sweaty and still caught up in the nightmare that had seemed so real. The door to the guestroom opened and uncle David came in. He turned the lights on and she blinked rapidly at the brightness it caused._

"_Abby sweetie, are you okay?"_

_The little girl started sobbing. "No, I had a nightmare and it was really really scary."_

"_Oh baby, come here." She buried her face in her uncle's shoulder and let him wrap his strong arms around her fragile body._

"_You're all sweaty," uncle David said. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up so that you can sleep some more."_

_He picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. He undressed her and put her in the bathtub._

Tony stared at her with his eyes wide open. "Wait, you're saying…"

**A/N: **Again a short chapter, I just suck at longer ones. So, what do you think? Still interesting enough?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

Tony stared at her with his eyes wide open. "Wait, you're saying he…"

"Touched me?" Abby finished. "No, at least not back then. He just looked at me really strange. I didn't know what to think of it first."

Tony nodded, looking at the ground. He so didn't like the sound of 'at least not back then'. "So what happened after that?"

Abby was staring at the ground too. "I got myself cleaned and he brought me back to my room. I just went to sleep again. But then, that morning…"

_The little girl entered the kitchen, rubbing her still sleepy eyes. Her uncle and aunt were already having __breakfast. They hadn't waited for her, she realised. It stung a bit, but she didn't know why._

"_Hello, little princess," her uncle greeted her. "Did you manage to get some sleep after your bath?"_

_She nodded._

"_What bath?" her aunt asked disapproving._

"_She had a nightmare," Uncle David explained, "and she was all sweaty, so I figured she'd want to clean up."_

"_A nightmare? What was it about?"_

_The little girl started shaking when she remembered her dream. It had been so realistic. "A monster was sitting beneath my bed and he wanted to eat me."_

_Both Uncle David and Aunt Jessie raised their eyebrows. "Monsters do not exist," Aunt Jessie replied. "Don't be so silly."_

"_But it was really scary," the girl argued. But she knew it was in vain._

"_Now sit down and eat your breakfast," Aunt Jessie said. "Don't be so late the next time, or else we'll have to take other measures."_

_The little girl sat down and ate quietly, trying to hide the tears in her eyes. She really didn't know what she'd done wrong._

"Your aunt and uncle kinda remind me of the Dursleys," Tony said. "You know, when they tell Harry that flying motorbikes don't exist and stuff like that."

Abby smiled a bit. "Yes, now that you mention it. They really freaked me out, you know. I really didn't know what I'd done wrong, and I really didn't want to know what measures my aunt would take. So I mostly kept to myself that day and I made sure I was in time for lunch and dinner. But it all went wrong that night."

_The little girl stood in front of her bed in her pyjamas. She was really tired and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep immediately, but the nightmare from last night was still very clear in her memory. She lowered __herself to her knees to look underneath the bed. Just to be sure there wasn't a monster there. Then she saw the weird-shaped shadow and started yelling. Aunt Jessie was with her in no time._

"_What's wrong, my dear?" she asked in a caring voice._

"_The monster, it sitting underneath my bed," the little girl cried. She was really frightened._

_Aunt Jessie sighed. "Monsters do not exist, Abby, I thought I was clear on that subject."_

"_But just look! It's sitting right there!"_

"_Abby! Are you listening to me?"_

_The girl started crying even harder. Her aunt raised her hand and slapped her hard in her face. She immediately stopped crying, to__o scared to make a sound._

_Aunt Jessie lowered her face so that she was looking into the girl's eyes. "Monsters. Do. Not. Exist. Do I make myself__ clear?"_

_The girl nodded quickly, afraid of what would happen if she dared to disagree._

"_And don't you dare to ever make me come because you think there is a monster under your bed, in your closet or in your desk drawer. Even when you think it's hiding in your clothes. Do I make myself clear?"_

_The girl nodded again, willing to do anything to make her aunt stop._

"She just hit you in the face?" Tony asked, disbelieving. "And you let her?"

"Oh come on, Tony, I was like seven years old. Of course I did!" Abby practically yelled.

"Sorry," Tony muttered. "I didn't mean to… Well, you know, it's just… I didn't…"

"I know," Abby whispered, on the edge of tears. "I know."

"But I thought your uncle was the one that… Well, you know." Tony carefully said.

"I never said my aunt was the problem," Abby answered, her face screwed up. "The real trouble when my uncle came to comfort me."

**A/N: I'm not really sure about this chapter, so plz let me know how I did and if I should continue.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter**** Four:**

"Oh God, Abby," Tony whispered.

She just smiled at him.

"I… I really didn't know."

"I know, Tony. That was kind of what I intended. If I just go and tell everyone, I'll only get pity. I don't want pity. It was a long time ago."

Tony looked at her and opened his mouth to say something. He was interrupted by a strange noise near the window.  
"Abbs, get behind me," he called.

Abby just smiled. "It's a bird, Tony. Wow, you're really freaking out here."

Tony let out a breath. Abby was right, he was freaking out. He mentally cursed himself for that. He was supposed to be the stronger one right now.

Abby stared at the window. "Birds must have a great life. Just fly away to a better place if they don't like it here. Do you know the scene in Forrest Gump, when Jenny starts praying?"

Tony nodded. He knew exactly what scene she meant. "Dear God, make me a bird, so I can fly far, far away from here."

"I tried that, too," Abby whispered, again on the edge of tears. "Never worked. I guess God was busy."

"_You bitch! She's just a child!__ You can't go and slap her around."_

"_She needs to learn this now, David, or else she never will. Monsters are no good in her dreams, when there are also monsters in her life."_

"_Why? Why can't she just imagine? What's so wrong with that?"_

"_You know damn well what's wrong with that. All you do is imagine! Imagine another child that will take my place when you… when you…"_

"_Just say it, Jessie. Just for once speak your freakin' mind!"_

"_I won't let you do it again, David. Not with her. Not with my sister's daughter."_

"_Well, you're not really helping, are you? Maybe I'll just tell your sister that you hit her. That you hit your own niece!"_

"_O, for God's sake David, don't make me the bad guy here!"_

"_Are you implying that you're the GOOD guy then?"_

"_I was wrong, David. Monsters do exist. Monsters underneath her bed, but God forbid, ON her bed. I won't let you do it again David, I won't let you become the nightmare of another innocent child."_

"_O believe me, Jessie, you will. You always have and you know exactly why."_

_The little girl didn't know why her Aunt and Uncle were yelling. She just wanted them to stop and be quiet. She didn't have a clue what her Aunt meant. She was way too young for that._

"Your Aunt knew?" Tony asked, stunned. "She had known all the time?"

"I think so, yeah," Abby answered.

"But why didn't she… Why didn't she do something about it? Why did she let it happen?"

"I think she didn't even know that," Abby answered, deep in thought. "I mean, she loved him. They were married and she had sworn to be on his side until death parted them. I think she was ignorant, just that. Not unethical or anything, just ignorant."

**A/N: Plz let me know if it's still interesting. Next chapter will be longer and finally tell (not****hing explicit) what Uncle David exactly did and why Aunt Jessie didn't react.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm very, very sorry for the delay. School's been crazy lately and I've even ****been doing my homework during Christmas :S. Anyway, here's the new chapter. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Warning: Child abuse! Plz don't read if that makes you uncomfortable.**

**Chapter Five:**

"_Hey baby girl, are you alright?"_

_The girl looked up from the book she was reading when her Uncle came into the room. She was glad it was him, and not Aunt Jessie. "Why were you and Aunt Jessie yelling?"_

"_It was nothing, sweetie. We just had… a different opinion about something."_

_The girl nodded. "But why is Aunt Jessie so mad at me?"_

"_She wasn't mad at you, Abby. Not really."_

"_Then who was she mad at?"_

_Uncle David didn't speak for a moment. "Herself, I think."_

"_Why?" The little girl's look was full of confusion._

_Uncle David shook his head. "Listen Abby, what's important is that she was wrong. There's nothing wrong with believing in monsters. Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."_

"Your Uncle was quoting G. K. Chesterton?" Tony asked.

Abby smiled. "And you recognise it? While it's not from a movie?"

Tony blushed a little. "Please, continue."

"_Anyway, I don't think she'll react like that again, sweethart."_

_The little girl nodded. She was glad. Her Aunt scared her. "But I'm still afraid of the monster, Uncle David. It's still under my bed."_

_Uncle David smiled and lowered himself to his knees, so that he could look underneath the girl's bed. Then he waved his arms. "Go away, monster! Stay away from my little Abby!"_

_Then he looked at his niece. "There you go, the monster is gone."_

_The girl smiled and hugged the man. "Thank you, Uncle David!"_

"_You're welcome, sweetie." And he smelled her hair._

"Creepy," Tony said.

"Yeah, he was a creep," Abby whispered. "I just didn't know it back then. I was still really confused, because in my mind Aunt Jessie was the bad guy, or girl, and he was the good guy. But he protected her. And then there was the fight they had. So I really didn't know what to think anymore."

"_Are you cold?" Uncle David asked the little girl. She shook her head, her black hair waving through the air. "You sure?" Her Uncle asked again._

_She smiled. "Maybe a little."_

"_Well, we should do something about that, right?"_

"_A warm bath?" the girl asked excited._

_The Uncle laughed. "We could do that. Or, I could just keep you warm. I'm really good at that, you know."_

_The girl was dissapointed. She really was looking forward to the bath. But her Uncle was warm and strong and he smelled nice. So she nodded. "Okay."_

_Uncle David sat down on her bed. "Come here," he said and she came. "Sit on my lap," he said and she sat on her lap. "Just sit back," he said and she just sat back. "Relax and feel the warmth," he said and she relaxed and felt the warmth. "Just trust me," he whispered and she trusted him. He was her uncle. He was married to her mom's sister. She could trust him._

_He started rubbing her shoulders. She could feel his warmth __spred into her body, through his big hands on her back. He let his hands go down over her arms, over her legs, until he'd reached her feet. And then he went up again, but on the inside of her legs. And after that he went even further up, to her chest, until he'd reached her cheeks._

"I knew something was wrong," Abby said, tears on her cheeks. "But I didn't know what. It sounds stupid, but I didn't know that wasn't supposed to happen. Well you know, my father didn't do it, b-but…" She started crying.

"Oh, Abby," Tony whispered. He stepped towards her and put his arms around her shoulders, not noticing the tears running down his own cheeks. He never thought that his happy Goth would have a secret like this.

"M-my Aunt kn-knew what he-he was doing, b-but she…" Abby stammered in tears.

"Sssh, Abby, just breathe," Tony tried to soothe her. "It's okay, I'm here."

Abby took a few deep breaths and calmed down a little bit. "He-he did that more than once when I stayed with them. A few times when I took a bath. But every night he'd come sit on my bed and… and…"

"I've got you, Abbs," Tony shushed. "It's okay."

"Aunt J-Jessie… She started to look at me with a-a really st-strange look in her-her eyes. It wasn't p-pity or anything… Sh-she almost looked s-satis… satisfied. L-like she knew that he would stay with her as long… as long as he c-could also have-have a ch-child to…"

Tony held her even firmer, trying to do anything to somehow support her. To show her how sorry he was that something like that had happened to her.

'It's only good for that bastard he's already dead and I didn't get my hands on him,' he thought.

**A/N: Love it? Hate it? Plz let me know, this was a difficult chapter to write and I'm not really satisfied… **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I think 'sorry' doesn't really cover the fact that it took me about half a year to update this story, and I know it****'s a sign of weakness and everything, but still: I'm really, really sorry. The main reason is that I've lost interest in NCIS for a while, but I'm back in business now and plan on updating frequently! *smiles convincingly* Really! I promise! Anyways, on with the story.**

**Warning: Child abuse! Plz don't read if that makes you uncomfortable.**

Chapter Six:

Tony held Abby close as she broke down. "Ssshh, it's okay, I'm here. Everything's going to be okay." He knew the words were meaningless, but he said them anyway. It was better than nothing.

"I-I never sh-should h-h-have let h-him do-do that…" Abby cried. "Sh-should have kn-known better…"

"Sshh, it's not your fault, Abby," Tony shushed. "You were just a kid and he took advance of that."

He kept saying comforting words and holding her until she'd calmed down a bit.

"Thank you, Tony," she said with a watery smile. "I'm glad you came down to my lab today."

He returned her smile. "Any time, Abs, any time. Listen, I could really use some caffeine right now. Can I get you a Caff-Pow?"

"Sure…" she said hesitantly.

"I'll be right back." Tony flashed a smile at her and walked towards the elevator. He knew it was a bit insensitive to leave the Goth alone right now, but he needed a few minutes to get his own mind straight and process everything he'd just heard. He got into the elevator, flipped the switch Gibbs was so familiar with and sank on his knees.

"Damn it," he whispered, not noticing the tear making his way down his cheek. "Damn it to hell." He sat there for a few minutes. Then, after thinking 'get over yourself, DiNozzo' he got up and flipped the switch again. He quickly went to the Caff-Pow machine, groaning when he saw McGee standing near it. He really couldn't deal with any of his questions right now.

"Hey, Tony!" McGee said as soon as he saw him. "Have you been to see Abby yet?"

"McGoo," Tony sighed as the conversation turned out to be inevitable. "Yes, I have, and if you'll excuse me, I'm about to buy her a Caff-Pow."

"Is she alright?" McGee asked. Tony thought about lying, but then he saw the look at his Probie's face. He was just as concerned about her as Tony was.

"No, she isn't right now, but she will be," Tony answered, hoping he was right.

"Then what's going on?"

"Her uncle died." Technically speaking, that wasn't lying. Just not telling the whole truth. Tony didn't know if Abby wanted anyone else to know, but if she did she would have to tell her themselves, he decided.

"Listen, Tim," – why did he say Tim? Now McGee would only think things were really serious. Right, they were – "I'm going to talk to her for a little bit longer, and I think she's going to be fine after that, okay? Don't worry."

McGee nodded, seemingly relieved, and walked away. Tony quickly finished his run for coffee and Caff-Pow and returned to the lab. Abby was still sitting at her desk, staring at Uncle David's picture again.

"Hey there, gorgeous," he said, hoping to make her smile. And she did. "Hey there, handsome. What took you so long?"

"McGoo," he said casually.

"What did he want?" she said, alarmed by his tone. "Tony, what did he want?" she repeated when she didn't get an answer.

"He's just worried about you, Abbs. We all were."

"So what did you tell him?"

"That your uncle died."

She was quiet for a while.

"Abbs, maybe you should consider telling him. And Ziva."

She looked at him. "I don't know if I can, Tony."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. But you could let me of Gibbs do the talking. At least, I assume Gibbs knows?"

She smiled. "Yes, he does. Who do you think got me out of there?"

_The little girl was happy when her parents came to pick her up. She hadn't enjoyed her stay with Uncle David and Aunt Jessie. The things that had happened were just… wrong, but she didn't know why. It hadn't felt right._

_~Thank you so much for taking care of our little girl,~ she saw her mother signing to Uncle David._

"_Sure, not a problem," Uncle David answered. She knew her mother would read his lips without trouble. "She can come back any time she wants."_

_~Would it be possible for her to stay here next week too? We have got a business trip to attend,~ her mother signed._

No!_ she wanted to yell, even though she wouldn't be able to hear it. _Don't make me go back here! I don't want to!

"_Of course, I'd be happy to," Uncle David smiled. "We had a great time, didn't we Pumpkin?" _

_He put his arm around the little girl, squeezing her shoulder just a little too hard to be comforting. "Didn't we?" he asked again, squeezing even harder._

"_Y-yes," she said. "It was great."_

"I went again the week after that, and the one after that too. Every night he would come to tuck me in and repeat everything. I knew it wasn't supposed to happen, but I didn't know what to do about it. And I was also ashamed."

"Didn't your parents know?" Tony asked. "Didn't they suspect anything?"

"They almost did," Abby answered thoughtfully, "that one time we had a family dinner. It was about seven months after the first time."

_The little girl liked the family dinners__. It would fill the normally quiet house with cheerful voices. She loved her family, her grandparents, her cousins and all her aunts and uncles. Well, almost all of them. When Aunt Jessie and Uncle David came in, her smile faltered for a second. But she didn't want that tiny fact ruining her day. So she just sat down in between Grandpa Charles and cousin Toby and enjoyed dinner._

_It all went surprisingly well, until Uncle David asked her to show her room. Her mother had enthusiastically __told everyone about her painted walls and new closet, so to everyone it was a normal request. But the little girl knew better. She knew what happened when she went into a bedroom with Uncle David._

_Aunt Jessie looked like she was going to say something, but she stayed quiet. As she always had._

"_Come on Pumpkin, show me your room," Uncle David said. "You painted them pink, you said?"_

_She reluctantly got up and took him to her room. _

"_It looks really nice," he said, looking around. Then he said down on her bed and motioned her to sit next to her._

_She squeezed her eyes shut en shook her head frantically. "I don't want to anymore."_

"_Pumpkin, calm down. I'm your uncle, I wont hurt you. You know you can trust me." And he smiled at her. So she sat down. And he touched her. She hated his touch on her skin. And then he told her to touch him. That it was okay, that all the nieces did that with their uncles. And he took her hand and placed it on his body. And she screamed._

"My parents are deaf," Abby said with a wry smile. "They didn't hear me. But the rest of my family did, and they came up to my room."

"_What's wrong, where is the fire?" Aunt Elizabeth asked._

_Uncle David had quickly gotten of the bed and straightened his clothes. "Abby saw a spider and she was scared."_

_The little girl sat on the bed, crying. Surprisingly, Aunt Jessie sat down next to her, trying to comfort her. "It's okay, baby, spiders aren't that bad. You will probably see them again in your life, but that's alright. There is nothing you can do about it, just make it alright for yourself. And there is certainly no reason to scream about it. Not everyone has to know you just saw a spider."_

"Wait, she told you to just put up with it?" Tony asked shocked. "While she knew what he was doing?"

"It was the only reason he didn't leave her," Abby explained softly. "If he could find a substitute for… certain things, than he would stay with her for the other ones. She just really loved him."

_The people left the room one by one. Eventually, only Uncle David was left._

"_Don't ever do that again," he whispered in her ear. "If you ever do that again, I'll make you regret it. This is our little secret, Pumpkin, just you and me. No one is coming between that." And then he left too._

_The little girl stayed, shaking with fear. From that moment, Uncle David was a Monster._

**A/N: Are there still people interested in the story? The next chapter: Gibbs to the rescue! And my take on how they met.**


End file.
